Stewart hails "incredible night"
Ross Stewart reflected on “an incredible night” as Southampton toppled the Premier League leaders to book their place in the Emirates FA Cup semi-finals at Wembley.
A boyhood Arsenal fan, Stewart struck the opener in the 35th minute to put the Gunners on the back foot in an absorbing quarter-final clash at St Mary’s.
The visitors made a triple change on the hour and it was one of those substitutes, Viktor Gyökeres, who levelled the scores, only for Shea Charles to snatch victory for Saints in dramatic fashion five minutes from time.
“It’s just pure joy and elation, an incredible night for the club to beat a team of Arsenal’s calibre in the manner that we did,” Stewart said.
“I thought we were excellent. It’s an incredible night for the club and there were some good celebrations in the dressing room – we’ll enjoy tonight.
“It’s a great occasion to look forward to, but we’ve got a lot of league business that we’ve got to take care of and the gaffer has just reinforced that – starting Tuesday we’ve got to be ready to go for another tough game.”
Stewart dissected his goal in detail, from the build-up to the outpouring of emotion that followed.
“I found myself out on the left, which was strange,” he said. “I’m thinking ‘just get myself in at the back post’. Breezy’s tried to pick me out, the wind has been swirling here all night and I think Ben White just gets caught under it.
“At that point I’ve just taken it on my chest – probably looking to take it at a bit more of an angle than I did, but it just sat up lovely for me on my right foot.
“You’re just thinking hit the target, keep your head over it, keep it low with pace, and it was great to see it find the corner. At that point I thought we were well deserving of it.
“For me personally it’s the kind of feeling I’ve missed through a lot of injury and stuff. It was a great feeling to have and one I want more of, especially between now and the end of the season.
“It set us off for a really great night ahead, and I think really gave us the confidence to go on and believe that we could really win this game.”
Impartial observers may have assumed the Champions League favourites would go on to win after Gyökeres’ 68th-minute leveller, but it was another substitute, Charles, who produced the decisive moment, leaving Stewart praising Saints’ mentality.
“I think it’s just where we’re at as a squad – that confidence, that belief, the character. We knew it was going to be tough, but we spoke about it throughout the week that we’re a team that’s 14 games unbeaten, we know we’re a hard team to beat, and I think you saw that again tonight,” he continued.
“When they scored it didn’t knock us one bit, we regained our composure and looked a real threat again. Shea Charles has popped up with a few winners this year, and it was a great moment for him as well.”
Saints are back in action at St Mary's next Saturday when play-off rivals Derby County are the visitors (3pm BST). Tickets start from £25 for Adults and £15 for Juniors.
